Fans have been pretty fired up about the release of 2010-11 NHL Ultimate Collection and many Certified Diamond Dealers are moving completely through their allocations on the product. As many who have been busting through the product know, there are three “A” autograph cards inserted in each case on average. We wanted to provide some additional insight on who and what comprise an “A” hit.
“A” hits are made up of autograph cards of any of these veteran players:
Alexander Ovechkin
Bobby Orr
Carey Price
Gordie Howe
Joe Sakic
John Tavares
Jonathan Toews
Mario Lemieux
Mark Messier
Martin Brodeur
Patrick Kane
Patrick Roy
Sidney Crosby
Steven Stamkos
Wayne Gretzky
They are also made up of autograph cards of any of these rookie players:
Brayden Schenn
Jacob Markstrom
Jeff Skinner
Jordan Eberle
P.K. Subban
Taylor Hall
Tyler Seguin
Lastly, they are made up of autograph cards from any of the following subsets or inserts:
Autographed Ultimate Rookie SP’s (#’d of 99)
Autographed Ultimate Rookie Patch Variations (#’d of 25 or 35)
Autographed Ultimate Rookie Shield Variations (#’d of 1)
Signed Ultimate Debut Threads Patches (#’d of 25)
Ultimate Nicknames (#’d of 25)
Ultimate Autographed Patches (#’d of 10)
Ultimate Autographed Dual Jerseys (#’d of 10)
Ultimate Autographed Dual Patches (#’d of 5)
Ultimate Signature Logos (#’d of 1)
Additionally, fans who have been looking at the checklist for the 2010-11 NHL Ultimate Signatures insert set have likely noticed references to “Group A”, “Group B” etc. We wanted to clear up what those letters correspond to as well. Unlike the other signed cards within 2010-11 NHL Ultimate Collection, the Ultimate Signatures are NOT serial numbered. Those cards have specifically been designed without serial-numbering to allow some flexibility during the process of putting the product together.
In years past, we’ve provided limited information on occasion regarding which cards from the Ultimate Signatures insert set were scarce short-prints. In an effort to provide consumers with better information on these cards, we’ve incorporated a system whereby the checklist is broken into specific tiers of scarcity by grouping the toughest cards together and labeling them as “Group A” and repeating the process with subsequent groups that carry more prevalent print runs.
The official breakdown for the 2010-11 NHL Ultimate Signatures checklist is as follows:
Group A (1:125 packs)
USAO Alexander Ovechkin
USGH Gordie Howe
USJS Joe Sakic
USML Mario Lemieux
USMM Mark Messier
USPR Patrick Roy
USWG Wayne Gretzky
Group B (1:44 packs)
USBC Bobby Clarke
USBH Bobby Hull
USGL Guy Lafleur
USJI Jarome Iginla
USMB Martin Brodeur
USMI Mike Bossy
USPD Pavel Datsyuk
USPE Phil Esposito
USPEI Brad Richards
Group C (1:15 packs)
USDD Drew Doughty
USEK Evander Kane
ESEM Evgeni Malkin
USJE Jordan Eberle
USJF Jeff Skinner
USMH Milan Hejduk
USPK Patrick Kane
USPS P.K. Subban
USRM Ryan Miller
USSC Sidney Crosby
USSS Steven Stamkos
USTA John Tavares
USTH Taylor Hall
USTO Jonathan Toews
Group D (1:8 packs)
USBO Bobby Orr
USBR Bobby Ryan
USDS Derek Stepan
USEG Evgeni Grachev
USMD Matt Duchene
USMJ Marcus Johansson
USMT Mattias Tedenby
USNL Nicklas Lidstrom
USNN Nino Niederreiter
USSB Sergei Bobrovsky
Group E (1:4 packs)
USBD Brandon Dubinsky
USBS Brayden Schenn
USBY Brandon Yip
USCS Chris Stewart
USET Eric Tangradi
USGU Guillaume Latendresse
USJC Jared Cowen
USJM Jamie McBain
USNF Nick Foligno
USZH Zach Hamill
Of note, we’ve seen a few references on collector message boards mistakenly referencing the Ultimate Signatures Group A cards as one and the same as the “A” hit signatures that fall three or more per case. Though there are “A” hit signatures within the Ultimate Signatures Group A (all of them, in fact, fall within the guidelines of an “A” hit), by no means, do the Ultimate Signatures Group A cards represent the complete sum of “A” hit cards within the entire 2010-11 NHL Ultimate Collection product.
Additionally, the odds stated for each of the groups within the Ultimate Signatures checklist reference the number of packs it takes to find any one card from that group. Thus, if you were to open 125 packs, you would find any ONE of the seven different cards within Group A on average. Thus, if you see a reference to Wayne Gretzky’s Ultimate Signatures insert falling at a rate of 1 in every 125 packs, that is not an accurate interpretation. Gretzky’s Ultimate Signatures insert actually falls at about 1 in every 875 packs (7 x 125).
Finally, collectors should note that though the print runs for individual cards within each group are not exactly equal, the quantities are generally within a few cards of one another and often exactly equal to one another.
